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Customer Service Delays

We are currently experiencing a high volume of calls to our Contact Centre and requests to our Council Tax Teams - mainly due to the cost- of- living crisis.

Both teams are currently prioritising supporting the most vulnerable, and those in need of help and support from our Emergency Limited Assistance Scheme (ELAS).

We appreciate that the current response times will be frustrating for people trying to contact the Council, therefore we would encourage people to use online processes wherever possible.

Dignity at Work

Our Customer Services staff come to work to provide a service to our customers. We will talk to you with respect, and it is important that you treat our staff with respect.

Sefton Council observes a dignity at work and zero tolerance culture. This means that aggressive or violent behaviour, including swearing towards our staff will not be tolerated.

If you talk to our staff in a way that we consider aggressive, abusive or offensive, our staff have the right to immediately terminate telephone calls in the Contact Centre or terminate interviews in our One Stop Shops. We may also take steps to restrict the way that you contact us.

We feel sure that you will understand that we need to be respectful when we talk to each other.

Is your query urgent?

If your call is of an urgent nature, for example reporting a dangerous structure or highway issue, please do not use the Contact Us form. Contact the Customer Services team on 0345 140 0845.

Contact Centre Opening Hours

Our current opening hours are as follows for the Contact Centre phoneline 0345 140 0845 and for responding to social media and online queries:

Monday to Thursday – 9am to 5.30pm
Fridays – 9am to 5pm

Out of Hours

If your call is an out of hours emergency contact Sefton Arc security 0151 922 6107.

Please note, this only applies Monday to Thursday after 5:30pm and Friday after 5pm.

Contact Centre

Our Contact Centre is experiencing extremely high call volumes and will continue to concentrate its focus on the more vulnerable members of our community.

There are alternative ways for you to get information:

• Stay up to date with changes to council services at our Community updates webpage;
• Volunteer to help vulnerable residents in Sefton here;
• Access a range of Council services online. 

If you still need to get in touch? Why not try these options first...

• Make an online payment;
• Request a bulky item collection;
• Report a street sweeping complaint;
• Report dog fouling;
• Report fly tipping; 
• Report a broken street light;
• Report an abandoned vehicle;
• Have your say on a consultation; 
• Making a planning enforcement complaint
• Report anti-social behaviour
• Missed a collection?

Not found what you're looking for? Try searching our online services. 

If your enquiry is not listed above, you can CONTACT US via:

• Use our online contact form - we aim to respond to your query within 10 working days;
• Send us a Tweet or a DM on our Sefton Council Twitter Page;
• Chat to us via Web Chat;
• Contact your local Councillor;
• Provide feedback or make a complaint online. 

One Stop Shops

Sefton Council has two One Stop Shops located within the borough dealing with a range of face-to-face enquiries for many of our Council Services.

Bootle One Stop Shop is located on 324 Stanley Road, Bootle, L20 3ET

Southport One Stop Shop is located within The Atkinson, Lord Street, Southport, PR8 1DB

For Bootle One Stop Shop you can drop-in during the hours of 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday or alternatively you can request an appointment. Bootle One Stop Shop is at its busiest during the hours of 12pm to 2.00pm, please try to avoid these hours, should you wish to keep your waiting time to a minimum.

Bootle One Stop Shop no longer has payment kiosks but has a cashier onsite accepting card and cash payments for a number of Council services. The cashiering facilities offered, are available from 9.00 am to 12.00 pm and 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm, Monday to Friday. Customers can also pay for Council services via our automated payment telephone line, at local Post Office’s and through the Council’s website.  

For Southport One Stop Shop recently relocated from Cambridge Arcade to The Atkinson, we offer an appointment only service during the hours of 10am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

If you require an appointment for either One Stop Shop, please contact our Contact Centre on 0345 140 0845.

Visiting our One Stop Shops & Accessibility

Both One Stop Shops are:

• Wheelchair accessible and we have staff available to assist customers to their appointment when they arrive, should they require it.  
• Have a loop hearing system for people who are hearing impaired
• Can offer a private interview room; however, this needs to be requested in advance of your interview.
• Have an interpreter service available for customers where English is not their first language.

Enquiries

If you are a member of the public who has an enquiry about a Sefton Council service, please use our contact form.

Alternatively you can email contact@sefton.gov.uk

All media enquiries, including those for Cabinet Members, must be sent to the Council’s Communications Team, who will organise any responses.

Content on our MySefton News Website is available for use by journalists and other media.

Videos can be downloaded from Sefton Council’s YouTube channel.

If you require files, including photographs, to be sent to you in any other way, please contact the Communications Team.

Customer Satisfaction Survey

To comply with certain Customer Service Excellence standards, our Bootle One Stop Shop has been completing customer satisfaction surveys with visiting customers.

You can download the results of our most recent survey here.

Contacts

Downloads

Privacy Notice Customer Services Updated 24.04.23

(pdf 429KB)